Outlook to get Facebook updates, but is it a good thing?

February 17, 2010|South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Microsoft adds Facebook, MySpace to Outlook 2010, but is this a big problem waiting to happen? by: Daniel Vasquez February 17th, 2010 | 11:08 AM Microsoft has boldly announced it will connect email users with social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, making it easier for customers to check incoming business mail along with profile and status updates and everything else that comes with being tightly linked to such social sites.

Sounds fun, right? Email from the boss asking for the report she asked for last week. Check. Best friend is now jumping in the pool. Check. Ex-girlfriend is now single again. Check.

Also sounds like a fast way to get in trouble at work. Do you really want to get caught monitoring Facebook and MySpace while at work? Don't some companies have polices against such use of time? And even if the boss lets this slide, do you really want to be thinking about friends, beaches and dating when you are trying to get that report done?

Experts are also questioning how Microsoft's plans meant in part to challenge Google's launch of Buzz and its integration of G-Mail accounts with social networking sites will take into account it's well-known problems with Outlook security breaches. It's bad enough a hacker or other bad guy gets into your business email, but do you want him or her to have access to your family and friends accounts to?

Let's hope Microsoft works that out. In the meantime, only Microsoft's "millions" of Office 2010 Beta users can tap into the Outlook Social Connector, which funnels in updates and info instantly into your Outlook email box as soon as they come into your Facebook and Myspace accounts.

But when it releases to the general public later this year, will you be on board? Wait, gotta go, just found out via Outlook/Facebook my best friend has tickets to the upcoming Harlem Globetrotters game in Miami, have to stop working and ask him to take me

What do you say? Does it make sense to mix business email with social network updates and posts? Would you use it? Would you fire an employee who used it while on the job? Comments, people, please.